About Pastoral Planning
Letter from Bishop DiLorenzo
My Dear Friends in Our Lord,
Our diocese is facing the same decline in the number of priests available to serve parishes as the rest of the country. I believe that the Holy Spirit is at work leading us to consider a call to move from a focus on individual parishes and church buildings and to build a new model of church focused on inter-parish collaboration to strengthen and renew the lived expression of Church. To respond to this call, we are embarking on a very important project to develop a strategic plan to guide the future of our Diocese. The purpose of this strategic plan is to be proactive and comprehensive as we address the challenge of moving the Diocese of Richmond from a one-pastor-one-parish expectation to new models of inter-parish collaboration.
I established a Pastoral Planning Commission in 2005 and, among the functions I assigned them, was developing a plan for parish structuring including clustering. The Pastoral Planning Commission has completed the groundwork for the development of this plan. Their research, including information from other dioceses that have undertaken a similar process, indicates that the plans must include local parish input and involvement. It is a challenge to be active participants in this process and meet the many other obligations of parish life. The impact of this plan on the future of our diocese, however, makes full and active participation necessary and important. I ask each of you to consider this challenge prayerfully, aware that the Spirit of God is with us.
We are calling our strategic planning process Our Journey of Faith in order to reflect the nature of the work (a journey undertaken with faith led by the Holy Spirit) and to recognize its connection to We Walk by Faith. While We Walk by Faith is focused mostly on the assessment of strengths and needs within individual parishes, Our Journey of Faith is focused on inter-parish collaboration. I encourage all parish leadership to complete the self-assessment phase of We Walk by Faith to help identify areas of surplus and areas of need that can form new relationships in the inter-parish work of Our Journey of Faith.
Let us work together, led by the Holy Spirit, to determine how best to meet the needs of the people of God in the Diocese of Richmond. May the Lord's gracious mercy continue to bless you and your service to the Church and to all God's people.
With my gratitude and every best wish, I remain,
Sincerely yours in our Lord,
Most Rev. Francis X. DiLorenzo
Bishop of Richmond
July 2007